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This is a blog dedicated to Journey to the West, where anyone interested many join in and follow along in a journey through Wu Cheng’en’s classic. This reading group will be focused on the Anthony C. Yu English translation, which the ever-interesting @journeytothewestresearch has helped provide completely free to download and read as pdfs! The link can be found below:

https://journeytothewestresearch.com/2019/06/07/archive-10-journey-to-the-west-2012-revised-edition/

In full awareness that everyone has their own busy lives and differing schedules, this reading group is working off of a “do-as-you-want” model. Everyone is welcome to submit their analysis, art, reactions, memes, criticisms, additions of context, etc. as we make our way through the journey, but there is no pressure but to have fun with the work!

That said, there is a reading schedule. This reading group encourages all interested to read one JTTW chapter per week. This group will then “meet” every Sunday, which is be the day participants are encouraged to finish that week’s chapter and/or submit their creative/analytical pieces about it. Sunday will also be the day where I will give a quick recap on that week’s chapter, and will mass reblog anything participants submitted to have that work in the archive. This blog will start keeping to this schedule starting July 16, so please have read “Chapter 1: The Divine Root Conceives, by then.” You’ll find the reading schedule for Volume 1 below, and while not necessary I do encourage everyone to give a look at Yu’s introduction to this text as well.

Thank you in advance to anyone who wants to participate and to everyone who has expressed so much enthusiasm for this reading group! I’m very happy and excited to embark on this literary pilgrimage with you all.

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Journey to the West Volume 1 Reading Schedule

July 16-Chapter 1: The Divine Root Conceives

July 23-Chapter 2: Fully awoke to Bodhi’s wondrous truths

July 30-Chapter 3: Four Seas and a Thousand Mountains all bow to submit

August 6-Chapter 4: Appointed a BanHorse, could he be content?

August 13-Chapter 5: Disrupting the Peach Festival, the Great Sage steals elixir

August 20-Chapter 6: Guanyin, attending the banquet, inquires into the cause

August 27-Chapter 7: From the Eight Trigrams Brazier the Great Sage escapes

September 3-Chapter 8: Our Budha makes scriptures to impart ultimate bliss

September 10-Chapter 9: Chen Guangrui, going to his post, meets disaster

September 17-Chapter 10: The Old Dragon King’s foolish schemes transgress Heaven’s decrees

September 24-Chapter 11: Having toured the Underworld, Taizong returns to life

October 1-Chapter 12: The Tang emperor, firmly sincere, convenes a Grand Mass

October 8-Chapter 13: In the den of tigers, the Gold Star brings deliverance

October 15-Chapter 14: Mind Monkey returns to the Right

October 22-Chapter 15: At Serpent Coil Mountain, the gods give secret protection

October 29-Chapter 16: At Guanyin Hall the monks plot for the treasure

November 5-Chapter 17: Pilgrim Sun greatly disturbs the Black Wind Mountain

November 12-Chapter 18: At Guanyin Hall the Tang Monk leaves his ordeal

November 19-Chapter 19: At Cloudy Paths Cave, Wukong takes in Eight Rules

November 26-Chapter 20: At Yellow Wind Ridge the Tang Monk meets adversity

December 03-Chapter 21: The Viharapalas prepare lodging for the Great Sage

December 10-Chapter 22: Eight Rules fights fiercely at the Flowing-Sand River

December 17-Chapter 23: Tripitaka does not forget his origin

December 24-Chapter 24: At Long Life Mountain the Great Immortal detains his old friend

~ opera ~